Itongadol.- The chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, former general Doron Almog, was the founder of the Nahalat Eran Centre, a place for disabled youth and people in need of physical rehabilitation, built and named after his son, who was 22 and a half years old at the time of his death.
«Eran was a boy who never spoke. He never said ‘dad’ or ‘mum’. He never cried, he never complained. He just made hand gestures. And he was the greatest teacher I’ve ever had had,» Almog told ItonGadol in 2015. Eran Almog was born with a genetic malformation in the Corpus Callosum, a region of the brain that connects both hemispheres.
The centre, located in the Aleh Negev village of Ofakim in southern Israel, is part of a network of facilities run by the Aleh Foundation, which was founded by an Orthodox family in the absence of a similar Jewish institution.
«He taught me about life, about his place and the place of kids like him in the world. He led me to be his spokesperson, his representative and to think about things from his place. He is the reason for the construction of this site. I am just the emissary. This place gives security and a better quality of life to children like him, but it also has the purpose of repairing the whole society,» said Almog, who received ItonGadol at the Centre’s premises.
Doron Almog also served as a general in the Israeli army, participating in various operations and leading combat and tracking groups. Almog highlighted the visit of IDF soldiers and explained that there is a very important connection between the work of the Centre and the army: «You in the army know that you can’t leave a comrade lying on the battlefield. What is the army? It is a strong unit, it needs to provide defence to such an extent that civilians cannot. We preserve life. People in the army prepare people to give their lives for each other».
«KKL is a very important partner. When we started here there was nothing, it was all yellow, all deserted. Today there is water, gardens, plants, fruit and infrastructure. Another very important thing is not only to take care of the infrastructure, but also of the people. The best way to donate is not only with money, but for the person who donated to come with their children and grandchildren and connect with human values», Almog said.
»KKL comes to buy the land, to develop it, to turn it green, to give a better quality of life. KKL buys land here, not in Peru or Argentina, because it wants to be connected to Israel’s values. Love your neighbour as yourself. It is important to connect people, not only through donations, but also through voluntary activity», he concluded.
Israel has a law that guarantees state special education until the age of 21. When children pass that age, parents must find an alternative programme to continue.
The centre has more than a hundred young people who live there permanently, dozens who return home at the end of the day and 250 workers. The infrastructure consists of two mixed kindergartens, so that children with disabilities can interact with other children of their age who do not have a disability.
In addition, the Centre receives people who have had accidents and require physical rehabilitation, with physiotherapy. «We have many soldiers who came here after Operation Protective Edge and civilians who were also affected by the war, physically and psychologically», explained the Centre’s communications and public relations representative.